Background

• Center on Crime, Communities and Culture

  • Mentally ill offenders are often jailed for relatively minor offenses, such as vagrancy, trespassing, disorderly conduct, alcohol-related charges, or failing to pay for a meal.
  • "When it is mental illness and not criminal intent that underlies a petty criminal act, treatment in mental health programs is demonstrably more effective at reducing recidivism than a sentence to jail."

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